The issue of the death sentence has been around dating as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, "an eye for an eye." Britain influenced the death penalty in America more than any other country. In 1612 A.D., Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which established the practice of the death penalty in America. This subject has had many challenges leading up to today. At first the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. The 1960s challenged the death penalty as "cruel and unusual" punishment under the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment contained an "evolving standard of decency that marked the process of a maturing society," according to the Supreme Court in the case of Trop v. Dulles. So it was then suspended. But as you all know, it is still in effect today. The “Peace Resource Project” started printing bumper stickers in 1982 concerning the world with peace and nuclear disarmament. By 2005, they were printing over 400 different titles, covering a variety of topics. The owner of this bumper sticker is for peace and overall against the death sentence. Given this history about the death penalty, what do you think? Is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment, or should we follow King Hammaurabi’s Code of Babylon, and make people get what they deserve and get even?
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